In the Aftermath

Three Mountains and Nine Rivers.

Lu Qingfeng looked up at the sky, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Divine thoughts spread out.

The surging waves of the North Sea gradually subsided. Most of the islands were either cracked open or smashed to pieces by the waves that rose tens or hundreds of feet high.

The harsh and cold land of the North Sea has caused countless deaths and injuries to Spirit Birth in the sea and on the islands.

Blood mingled with Sha Qi, permeating the sea. The perpetually swirling clouds and mist on the sea surged and churned, transforming what was once a fairyland of white fog into a stench of blood and gore, the details of which remained unknown until they finally dissipated.

The seabed and islands cracked open, spewing forth magma from beneath the earth. Upon contact with the seawater, it transformed into reefs and rocks, or formed new islands. Water vapor mixed with thick smoke and dust blanketed the sky, while rolling heat waves burned and scalded countless Spirit Birth.

"What a terrible thing!"

Lu Qingfeng shook his head, his killing intent towards the Black Dragon True Lord reaching its limit. "First, he sent the Three-Eyed Divine Hound to kill me, and now he wants to destroy an entire realm, take my life, and kill countless other Spirit Birth."

From beginning to end.

They are truly mortal enemies.

But.

Specifically...

Although that Black Dragon True Lord is Earth Immortal, it is unknown whether he dares to shatter the Mountain-Water Realm. Shattering a realm and causing the extinction of all Spirit Birth in that realm would create such a great karmic cause Karmic Power that even Earth Immortal True Lord might not be able to bear.

"It's probably just an act."

Lu Qingfeng thought to himself.

Among the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers are places like Six Dust Temple and Myriad Beasts Immortal Mountain, all of which have patriarchs in the Spirit Domain, some with even more profound backgrounds.

If the Black Dragon True Lord truly shatters the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers, he will likely suffer dire consequences.

Furthermore,

These people probably won't stand idly by and watch the Black Dragon True Lord commit his atrocities.

For example, Patriarch Qin Feng, who came from the Celestial Star Sect One-Line Heaven-Piercing Gorge of the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers—

"That person's formation technique is superb."

"The great formation that trapped the Black Dragon True Lord is exactly the same as the formation in Han Ling City, so it should be Patriarch Qin Feng."

Patriarch Qin Feng made a move.

As expected, Black Dragon True Lord backed down and stopped attacking the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers. Otherwise, even with Patriarch Qin Feng's intervention, Earth Immortal True Lord with numerous methods, and might very well have been able to shatter the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers.

Ultimately.

There were still some reservations.

"Just venting your anger?"

"Still--"

Lu Qingfeng sensed the sixty-four 'Star Stele of the Celestial Constellations' surrounding the Di Jiang Demon God, which were being continuously refined, and made some guesses in his mind.

Be on your guard.

He cast Invisibility Technique and flew into the void.

Looking down upon the land, seeing the Spirit Birth, Lu Qingfeng felt grief in his heart and his hatred for the Black Dragon True Lord grew even stronger.

They flew away.

They returned to Kongling Gorge without making a sound.

The Three Mountains and Nine Rivers are in turmoil.

The entire Celestial Star Sect was thrown into brief chaos. Fortunately, the turmoil was short-lived, and the chaos quickly subsided. Grandmaster Muyang and Wu Jiu dispatched cultivators to various directions to stabilize the situation.

I don't think anything major will happen.

Lu Qingfeng sneaked into the cave abode, then emerged from Yellow Ox Mountain and arrived at the Twenty-Four Pearl Waterside Pavilion.

"Even if the heavens and earth collapse before him, he would not change his expression!"

"Junior Brother Lu's level of skill is truly admirable!"

In the waterside pavilion.

Wu Jiu looked at Lu Qingfeng's arrival, a strange light flashing in his eyes, but he laughed heartily.

Grandmaster Muyang also looked at Lu Qingfeng, "The world is in turmoil, and Spiritual Qi is running rampant. I was worried about you, but now it seems that you have a strong aura and are fine, so I am relieved."

Their conversation was mostly filled with praise and concern.

But as Lu Qingfeng listened and watched, he gleaned a profound understanding from it all. Despite the immense upheaval that had occurred in the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers, with the world nearly shattered, Lu Qingfeng remained unmoved, staying within his cave abode.

They only just came out of quarantine now.

The two of them must have already begun to have their suspicions.

They couldn't quite guess Lu Qingfeng's true identity, but they did begin to wonder: Was Lu Qingfeng truly cultivating in seclusion all year round, or did he have some secret?

A little speculation, nothing important.

However, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole.

We should also pay attention to the details.

Lu Qingfeng remained unmoved, but frowned and said, "I was just trying to comprehend the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation' in my cave abode, but I was stuck and couldn't understand the mystery of the word 'collapse'. Just then, the world was in turmoil, and I suddenly understood it and finally mastered the formation. I was overjoyed. But when I came out of the cave abode, I saw chaos in the gate and the world was in ruins."

He frowned and asked, "What happened just now? Could it be that the demonic calamity has reappeared?"

Upon hearing this, Grandmaster Muyang and Wu Jiu exchanged a glance, both showing surprise. Without answering Lu Qingfeng's question, Wu Jiu couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother has already mastered the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation'?!"

"Good."

"This formation is mysterious and quite difficult. I spent seven years in seclusion studying it before I could grasp even a little bit of its intricacies. It was only through the recent upheaval of heaven and earth that my various insights were fully integrated, allowing me to master this formation."

As Lu Qingfeng spoke, he opened his palm, and several strands of Law Power intertwined. It was as if a world was faintly appearing in his palm, with countless stars swirling in it.

Boom boom boom!

The stars shifted, and one by one they fell like shooting stars, exploding with a deafening roar, depicting a scene of apocalypse. Though it was merely a small array in the palm of his hand, it further demonstrated Lu Qingfeng's profound understanding and strong control over it.

"It truly is the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation'!"

Seven years?!

Wu Jiu gasped, all his previous speculations vanishing. He was both shocked and impressed, saying, "Unfazed by the collapse of the sky, calm amidst countless changes. Junior Brother's talent and dedication to the art of formations truly make me ashamed!"

Grandmaster Muyang, standing nearby, also exclaimed in amazement, "The Collapsing Star Grand Formation is considered a high-level formation within our Celestial Star Sect. This formation is related to the changes in the stars and the circulation of the Heavenly Cycle, and its number of transformations is among the best of all high-level formations. The transformation involving the character 'collapse' is even more difficult. I have cultivated 48,000 basic formations and comprehended many low- and mid-level formations, and this 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation' is the third high-level formation I have studied."

"It took forty-nine years to master it."

"After another sixty-four years of painstaking research, I finally reached the level of 'palm array' that my junior brother has."

"Junior Brother's talent is unparalleled throughout history, and his diligence is truly ashamed of us!"

Back in the day.

He spent forty-nine years comprehending the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation' and another sixty-four years thoroughly understanding it, earning him the reputation as the greatest formation genius of the Celestial Star Sect since Patriarch Qin Feng.

At the time, I was still Qi Ingestion.

He believed himself to be no less talented than Patriarch Qin Feng, and he did not believe that there was anyone in the world more talented than him in the art of formations.

As his knowledge broadened and he learned more about Patriarch Qin Feng, he gradually Qi Ingestion.

He then practiced cultivation in the Formation Mountain.

After failing to pass the test multiple times, I finally realized how powerful that patriarch was.

But I've never seen it with my own eyes.

Today, he had personally witnessed this Junior Brother Lu—

Having been a beginner for twenty or thirty years, and having only been exposed to the Celestial Star Sect's formations for at most forty years, he has already comprehended the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation'.

Grandmaster Muyang was both shocked and moved.

It's complicated and hard to explain.

"My two senior brothers are too kind to Qingfeng."

Qingfeng repeatedly said he dared not.

He was even more astonished.

He claimed to have mastered the "Collapsing Star Grand Formation" in seven years, but that was just a boast. He had a foundation in the "True Exposition of the Celestial Lord's Formation Dao," had studied formation Dao for tens of thousands of years in the game, and was further aided by the "Enlightenment" Dharma Form. In terms of foundation and breadth of knowledge, he was far superior to Grandmaster Muyang, who only cultivated the Celestial Star Sect lineage.

Even without using the 'Enlightenment' technique, it took him over seventy years, with his cultivation level Mahayana True Immortal in the game, to comprehend this Collapsing Star Grand Formation. After that, he intermittently delved into it for over a hundred years before finally reaching the level of 'observing the formation in the palm of his hand'.

He is far inferior to Grandmaster Muyang, who is at the Primordial Spirit level.

Now, receiving praise and seeing Grandmaster Muyang's astonishment, a wave of shame washed over him. But then he thought—

"This Senior Brother Mu is such a genius in the art of formations. Over the years of his cultivation, he must have defeated countless other cultivators in the field of formations."

"Let this be the cycle of cause and effect."

Lu Qingfeng shook his head.

I also realized more deeply the importance of talent on the path of spiritual practice.

They were both trying to comprehend the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation'.

Grandmaster Muyang was a genius in the art of Primordial Spirit level, he mastered the 'Collapsing Star Grand Formation' in just one hundred years.

However, it took him nearly two hundred years to reach the Mahayana stage.

And then there's the personal savings I had before.

Lu Qingfeng was left even further behind.

There's really no way to compare people.

Certainly.

Talent is important, but opportunity and luck are equally important.

While the former cannot compare, few can rival Lu Qingfeng in the latter.

"No talent."

"The most tragic thing is when you have no luck or fortuitous opportunity."

Lu Qingfeng thought of Three Mountains and Nine Rivers countless cultivators trapped in their current state, destined to die of old age on the path to immortality, and couldn't help but shake his head, gathering his thoughts. He looked up at Grandmaster Muyang and Wu Jiu, "You two senior brothers haven't told me yet, what exactly happened when Qingfeng went into seclusion?"

In short.

This pulled the two back from their shock and emotion.

"Junior Brother Lu, you are unaware of this."

Before Grandmaster Muyang could speak, Wu Jiu interrupted, pointing to the heavens Outer Dao, "Just now, a Black Dragon was rampaging in the heavens, striking the earth and sky and nearly tearing the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers apart. Fortunately, our Celestial Star Sect's founder intervened and suppressed the demonic dragon in the depths of darkness, making it impossible for it to wreak havoc again."

He did not know the origin of the Black Dragon True Lord, nor did he know why the Black Dragon was targeting the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers.

However, as a Primordial Spirit cultivator, he could barely see the scenery beyond the heavens.

As the Black Dragon raged, countless star banners flew in from beyond the sky, forming a mysterious array. The array's operation bore many traces of the Celestial Star Sect's formations, undoubtedly the work of the Celestial Star Sect's founder in the Upper Realm.

But Wu Jiu had no way of knowing exactly who it was.

Moreover, when the formation was withdrawn, the Black Dragon disappeared, and the banner disappeared into the depths. Wu Jiu only thought that the ancestor of the upper realm had suppressed the demonic dragon.

"So it was the patriarch who made the move."

Lu Qingfeng's eyes had long since seen through the phenomena beyond the heavens, and now, listening to Wu Jiu's explanation, he couldn't help but find it amusing.

Grandmaster Muyang glanced at Lu Qingfeng and chuckled, " In the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers, all the major immortal sects have patriarchs protecting them in the Upper Realm. Right now, my Celestial Star Sect has a True Immortal senior outside the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers, wiping out the Star-Sucking Demon Spirit. This demon dragon, coming to the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers to act recklessly at this critical moment, has truly walked right into the line of fire."

Although Grandmaster Muyang and Wu Jiu were shocked by the power of the Black Dragon, they showed no signs of worry.

The Three Mountains and Nine Rivers are home to numerous immortal sects and Daoist lineages.

With so many patriarchs above, how could they stand by and watch the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers be destroyed by the demonic dragon? Even if it wasn't their Celestial Star Sect's patriarch who intervened this time, the patriarchs of other immortal sects would surely have stopped it.

There is nothing to fear.

Lu Qingfeng listened, feigning a sigh of relief, and said, "It's good that the demonic dragon has been suppressed. It's just a pity that the Three Mountains and Nine Rivers were first ravaged by the Star-Sucking Demon Spirit, and now they've suffered such a great calamity. It's truly a time of many disasters and troubles!"

Upon hearing this, both Grandmaster Muyang and Wu Jiu couldn't help but sigh.

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